Jack got up to go. When he reached the door, Ted called out to him: “I did get the results of the mitochondrial DNA back. There was a match with Mrs. Franconi, so at least your identification was right.”
“Finally something definitive,” Jack said.
Jack was again about to leave when Ted called out again.
“I just had a crazy idea,” Ted said. “The only way I could explain the results I’ve been getting is if the liver was transgenic.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Jack asked.
“It means the liver contains DNA from two separate organisms,” Ted said.
“Hmmmm,” Jack said. “I’ll have to think about that one.”
COGO, EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Bertram looked at his watch. It was four o’clock in the afternoon. Raising his eyes to look out the window, he noticed that the sudden, violent tropical rainstorm which had totally darkened the sky only fifteen minutes earlier had already vanished. In its place was a steamy sunny African afternoon.
With sudden resolve Bertram reached for his phone and called up to the fertility center. The evening tech by the name of Shirley Cartwright answered.
“Have the two new breeding bonobo females got their hormone shots today?” Bertram asked.
“Not yet,” Shirley said.
“I thought the protocol called for them to get the shots at two p.m.,” Bertram said.
“That’s the usual schedule,” Shirley said hesitantly.
“Why the delay?” Bertram asked.
“Miss Becket hasn’t arrived yet,” Shirley explained reluctantly. The last thing she wanted to do was get her immediate boss in trouble, but she knew she couldn’t lie.
“When was she due?” Bertram asked.
“No particular time,” Shirley said. “She’d told the day staff she’d be busy all morning in her lab over at the hospital. I imagine she got tied up.”
“She didn’t leave instructions for the hormones to be given by someone else if she didn’t arrive by two?” Bertram asked.
“Apparently not,” Shirley said. “So I expect her at any minute.”
“If she doesn’t come in the next half hour, go ahead and give the scheduled doses,” Bertram said. “Will that be a problem?”
“No problem whatsoever, Doctor,” Shirley said.
Bertram disconnected and then dialed Melanie’s lab in the hospital complex. He was less familiar with the staff and didn’t know the person who answered. But the person knew Bertram and told him a disturbing story. Melanie hadn’t been in that day because she’d been tied up at the animal center.
Bertram hung up and nervously tapped the top of the phone with the nail of his index finger. Despite Siegfried’s assertions that he’d taken care of the potential problem with Kevin and his reputed girlfriends, Bertram was skeptical. Melanie was a conscientious worker. It certainly wasn’t like her to miss a scheduled injection.
Snapping up the phone again, Bertram tried calling Kevin, but there was no answer.
With his suspicions rising, Bertram got up from his desk and informed Martha, his secretary, that he’d be back in an hour. Outside, he climbed into his Cherokee and headed for town.
As he drove Bertram became increasingly certain that Kevin and the women had managed to go to the island, and it angered him. He berated himself for allowing Siegfried to lull him into a false sense of security. Bertram had a growing premonition that Kevin’s curiosity was going to cause major trouble.
At the point of transition from asphalt to cobblestones at the edge of town, Bertram had to brake abruptly. In his mounting vexation, he’d been unaware of his speed. The wet cobblestones from the recent downpour were as slick as ice, so Bertram’s car skidded several yards before coming to a complete stop.
Bertram parked in the hospital parking lot. He climbed to the third floor of the lab and pounded on Kevin’s door. There was no response. Bertram tried the door. It was locked.
Returning to his car, Bertram drove around the town square and parked behind the town hall. He nodded to the lazy group of soldiers lounging in broken rattan chairs in the shade of the arcade.
Taking the stairs by twos, Bertram presented himself to Aurielo and said he had to speak to Siegfried.
“He’s with the chief of security at the moment,” Aurielo said.
“Let him know I’m here,” Bertram said, as he began to pace the outer office. His irritation was mounting.
Five minutes later, Cameron McIvers emerged from the inner office. He said hello to Bertram, but Bertram ignored him in his haste to get in to see Siegfried.
“We’ve got a problem,” Bertram said. “Melanie Becket didn’t show up for a scheduled injection this afternoon, and Kevin Marshall is not in his lab.”
“I’m not surprised,” Siegfried said calmly. He sat back and stretched with his good arm. “They were both seen leaving early this morning with the nurse. The ménage-à-trois seems to be blossoming. They even had a dinner party late into the night at Kevin’s house, and then the women stayed over.
“Truly?” Bertram questioned. That the nerdy researcher could be involved in such a liaison seemed impossible.
“I should know,” Siegfried said. “I live across the green from Kevin. Besides, I met the women earlier at the Chickee Bar. They were already tipsy and told me they were on their way to Kevin’s.”
“Where did they go this morning?” Bertram asked.
“I assume to Acalayong,” Siegfried said. “They were seen leaving in a pirogue before dawn by a member of the janitorial staff.”
“Then they have gone to the island by water,” Bertram snapped.
“They were seen going west, not east,” Siegfried said.
“It could have been a ruse,” Bertram said.
“It could have,” Siegfried agreed. “And I thought of the possibility. I even discussed it with Cameron. But both of us are of the opinion that the only way to visit the island by water is to land at the staging area. The rest of the island is surrounded by a virtual wall of mangroves and marsh.”
Bertram’s eyes rose up to stare at the huge rhino heads on the wall behind Siegfried. Their brainless carcasses reminded him of the site manager, yet Bertram had to admit in this instance he had a point. In fact, when the island was initially considered for the bonobo project its inaccessibility by water had been one of its attractions.
“And they couldn’t have landed at the staging area,” Siegfried continued, “because the soldiers are still out there itching to have an excuse to use their AK-47’s.” Siegfried laughed. “It tickles me every time I think of their shooting out Melanie’s car windows.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Bertram said grudgingly.
“Of course I’m right,” Siegfried said.
“But I’m still concerned,” Bertram said. “And suspicious. I want to get into Kevin’s office.”
“For what reason?” Siegfried asked.
“I was stupid enough to show him how to tap into the software we’d developed for locating the bonobos,” Bertram said. “Unfortunately, he’s been taking advantage of it. I know because he’s accessed it on several occasions for long periods of time. I’d like to see if I can find out what he’d been up to.”
“I’d say that sounds quite reasonable,” Siegfried said. He called out to Aurielo to see to it that Bertram had an entrance card for the lab. Then he said to Bertram: “Let me know if you find anything interesting.”
“Don’t worry,” Bertram said.
Armed with the magnetic pass card, Bertram returned to the lab and entered Kevin’s space. Locking the door behind him, he first went through Kevin’s desk. Finding nothing, he made a quick tour of the room. The first sign of trouble was a stack of computer paper next to the printer that Bertram recognized as printouts of the island graphic.
Bertram examined each page. He could tell that they represented varying scales. What he couldn’t figure out was the meaning of all the surcharged geometric shapes.